What Artificial Intelligence Is Missing – and Why It Cannot Attain It Under Current Paradigms
Preprints.org August 14, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.20944/preprints202508.1005.v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that current AI lacks consciousness, autonomous motivation, and genuine understanding of the world, and that AGI development may overlook principles of life and mind. Proposes a new paradigm integrating philosophy of mind, cognitive science, systems theory, and theoretical biology to ask what intelligence and consciousness are, rather than only how to build smarter machines. |
Abstract
Contemporary artificial intelligence (AI) achieves remarkable results in data processing, text generation, and the simulation of human cognition. However, it fundamentally lacks key characteristics of living systems — consciousness, autonomous motivation, and genuine understanding of the world. This article critically examines the ontological divide between simulated intelligence and lived experience, using the metaphor of the motorcycle and the horse to illustrate the blindness of technological progress. Drawing on philosophical concepts such as abduction, tacit knowledge, phenomenal consciousness, and autopoiesis, the paper argues that current approaches to developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) may overlook deeper principles of life and mind. Methodologically, it employs a comparative ontological analysis grounded in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, systems theory, and theoretical biology, supported by contemporary literature on consciousness and biological autonomy. The article calls for a new paradigm that integrates these perspectives — one that asks not only “how to build smarter machines,” but “what intelligence and consciousness truly are.”